I Am… Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas

For 'intimate' read '1,500 screaming fans' - though for a megastar of Beyonce Knowles' standing, presumably playing to this many individuals is comparable to a reformed 90s Britpop act selling all 30 advance tickets for an upstairs set at Camden's Enterprise. She might not be able to see the whites of everyone's eyes, but surely it's easier to interact with a Blue Square South crowd than kick-out time at the O2.

That said, beyond the customary thanks, introductions and shout-outs, Knowles' banter is thin on the ground - requests for the crowd to get up on their feet are answered, and the singer's patter is perfunctory rather than particularly tailored to this occasion. But this is a polished, professional performance, delivered in the knowledge that it's being preserved for posterity as this CD/DVD package. Knowles doesn't put a dangerously high heel wrong at any step. The stories that precede her cover versions are neatly scripted, succinct and fit the flow of the set well. Her vocals peak and dip, tremble and roar, mercifully without ever hitting Mariah Carey levels of skull-rattling intensity. All told, all boxes ticked.

If this all sounds rather predictable, it's with good reason: this is an entirely second-guessable affair, each movement telegraphed and every realigned arrangement (bombast turned down, jazz and funk switched up) meeting the listener's expectations head on. But that shouldn't be read to mean this is an unsatisfactory release - fans of Knowles, and Destiny's Child (there's a medley of their hits on disc two, complete with explanation of how the group's Independent Women came to feature on the Charlie's Angels soundtrack), will love what is essentially a greatest hits set. The very best songs are saved for the final stretch of a setlist that does dawdle at times - the DVD runs to the length of a feature film - but there are enough highs to carry the fair-weather follower through to the inevitable big climax.

A brief diversion into husband Jay-Z's catalogue for '03 Bonnie & Clyde leads to what's probably Knowles' best-known single: Crazy in Love. "The record label told me I didn't have one hit on my [debut] album. I guess they were kinda right… I had five," she jokes, before the track emerges from a soporific funk stupor into gloriously full flight, complete with Jigga back-ups; Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) subsequently closes the show with accomplished pizzazz. Job done.